


who can say if i've been changed for the better? (i do believe i have been changed for the better)

by septemberhour



Series: i love you and that's all i really know [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Mileven, Stranger Things 3, They love each other so much, el hopper - Freeform, el hopper loves mike wheeler, els just told mike shes leaving, i love them, love love love!, mike wheeler - Freeform, mike wheeler loves el hopper, short and sweet little ficlet, they're so cute i wanna die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 17:51:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21212663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/septemberhour/pseuds/septemberhour
Summary: she sometimes wondered if it were possible that he was made just for her, and her for him.





	who can say if i've been changed for the better? (i do believe i have been changed for the better)

**Author's Note:**

> haha i never post on here put hey, inspiration hits when it hits, right? This is a tiny little fic but please enjoy, it's kinda sad but mainly fluff, i just love love! Mike and El love each other so much I wanna cry.

“So.”

El murmured quietly as she came to sit beside Mike. He was curled up in the blanket fort, leaning against the wall, legs folded beneath him, expression one of anger and pain. She sat beside him cautiously, not knowing how he was feeling and not wanting to hurt him anymore than she knew she already had.

He lifted his head slightly, his eyes meeting hers. His expression immediately softened, and he gave her a watery smile. “C’mere, bub.”

She sighed audibly and shifted, curling up beside him, enveloping herself in his warmth. She rested her head on his shoulder as his arm curled around her waist. He kissed the top of her head softly, resting his face there.

“You’re really leaving, huh?” He muttered. His voice was small and heartbroken and El couldn’t stand it. She’d just told the boy she loved she was leaving him, _again, _after he’d waited and waited for her. She was leaving him, after all they’d been through, after all the monsters they’d fought. After all the small moments that meant just as much.

She lifted her head to look him in the eye. “Yeah.”

He heaved a heavy sigh at her response, and she felt her heart shatter in her chest. Silent tears were streaming down his face and she knew she was crying too. She shuffled forward, resting her forehead against his.

“But Mike?”

“Yeah?” He asked softly.

“You’re- you’ll always be-” she hesitated, closing her eyes and breathing him in as she felt him reach for her hand and squeeze it so tight like he was never going to let her go.

“You’re my- you’re _Mike. _You’ve always been my Mike since the rain and-” She heaved a sob, cutting herself off.

He leaned away from her slightly, hand cupping her cheek and eyes full of concern, waiting for her to continue.

“You always will be. You have that. _I promise. _You’ll _always _have that. And-” She gave him a longing look.

“I’m your El. You’ll always have that, too.”

Mike just nodded, understanding filling his expression. He stared at her for a long minute before leaning down, and kissing her. It was deep, as if he was trying to communicate all the unsaid things, all the unspoken _i love yous _through one kiss. She could feel his tears mixing with her own. The kiss seemed to last a lifetime and a second all at once, and all too soon he was pulling away, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead and then leaning his own against it. She breathed him in.

It was a quiet moment. One of the many they had shared since she had returned what seemed like an eternity ago. She could feel the warmth of the sun peeking through the basement windows, but overwhelmingly she felt the warmth from Mike. He was everything, it hit her in that moment. The heat and the cold and the comfort of home all rolled into one for her to have and to hold. Why he had chosen her, the weird girl from the rain, she had no idea. But what she did know was that she was the luckiest girl in the world to have him, and no amount of distance could change that.

Mike, almost as if he could read her thoughts (she sometimes thought he could. maybe it was a mike&el intuition thing, but somehow he always just knew what she needed in any given moment. she sometimes wondered if it were possible that he was made just for her, and her for him), leaned back to look into her eyes again. He gave her a smile, one that was warm, and kind, and said _i want you and i always will, _all at once. Wrapping his arm tighter around her waist and pulling her closer, he glanced around the fort quickly before his eyes landed on her again.

“You’re everything that’s good in my world, El. You’re everything.”

She beamed at him, snuggling into his side again. He tilted his head down, lips meeting hers again. It felt good, it felt like home.

They shared many more kisses between that night and her leaving, but on that Thanksgiving day, when she saw him again, he kissed her. And it felt the same. It felt like that day in the fort in the setting sun, with Mike, _her _Mike. Many things would change about them. But that never did.


End file.
